1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to a low-cost LED vehicle headlamp that requires just one light source, such as a multichip LED in one embodiment and driver system to provide the functions of low beam (LB), high beam (HB) and daytime running lamp (DRL). It is also capable of additional lighting functions such as AFS swiveling left/right and dynamic shadowing of high beam a so-called “beam attic”. The device can provide a glare-free high beam as well.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known in U.S. Pat. No. 8,197,109 (Iwasaki) to build a headlamp with a single beam pattern that can be configured as either a low beam or a high beam by adjusting the shape of the mirrors, but does not disclose a dual function lamp having both low beam and high beam patterns. Iwasaki '109 uses two different reflectors, one of which makes the spread light, the other makes the hotspot (or “kink”). It is understood that the apparatus disclosed therein is utilized commercially in the Nissan Leaf automobile.
The company Ichikoh Industries, Ltd. of Shanghai, China, markets an LED headlamp that has been reviewed by the inventor herein and which provides both low beam and high beam and which incorporates one LED light source, a shell-like reflector, and a movable shutter that makes a clicking noise as it alternates between high and low beam, referred to sometimes as the “chirp-chirp” headlamp. It has two physical reflector mirrors that rotate approximately 120 degrees to expose the LED to different optical surfaces that changes the light beam pattern from a low beam pattern to a high beam pattern.
The following headlamp devices are known: U.S. Pat. No. 7,731,401 (King); U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,876 (Ravier); U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,940 (Eschler); U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,733 (Gotou); U.S. Pat. No. 7,607,811 (Okada); U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,565 (Ishida); U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,120 (Kobayashi); U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,749 (Koayashi); and US Published Applications 2002/0109998 (Nouet); 2010/0027284 (Ackermann); 2004/0228139 (Taniuchi); and 2005/0195613 (Masahiko).
The problem with approaches of the prior art is that they did not provide means or capability to perform a plurality of lighting mode functions using a single light source.